Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Does it have anything to do with seeing more shows in 2016? If so, we’re here to help. As the city collectively recovers from its holiday hangover, venues have added some last-minute gigs (like a two-day Bernie Sanders benefit at Baby’s All Right and a surprise visit from LAURYN HILL at Brooklyn Bowl) to start the year off right. We’re particularly excited about the return of Cass McCombs, who just released an excellent compilation of B sides and rarities, A Folk Set Apart, on Domino Records. (More on that later.) He’ll stop by the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday and will also make an appearance at the Bernie benefit. Behold, this week’s best concerts in NYC:

Those hoping to score day-of-show tickets to the very intimate Lauryn Hill show taking place at Brooklyn Bowl on Monday should show up to the alley early: Though pre-sale tickets are sold out. the venue has reserved a limited number for diehards, available on a first-come-first-served basis. Of course, once inside, there’ll be plenty to do – grab some grub, bowl a few frames, and catch a rare set from the ex-Fugees singer, who last played the New York area this past summer at Afropunk. Lately she’s peppered some sets with new songs, as well as Fugees favorites and best-loved jams from her groundbreaking, Grammy-winning 1998 LP The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. – Lindsey Rhoades

It’s not exactly dueling pianos, but Le Poisson Rouge will host two virtuoso ivory ticklers on Monday – Jenny Lin and Uri Caine, who collaborated recently on The Spirio Sessions, a promotion for Steinway’s new, high-tech player piano (which is manufactured right here in their Astoria factory). Lin’s classical background anchors Caine’s flights of improvisational fancy, cleverly blurring the boundaries between Mozart and Miles Davis. There are both standing room and seated tickets available. – Lindsey Rhoades

There have already been a handful of grassroots-organized Bernie Sanders concert benefits, but Baby’s All Right will host the first officially sanctioned by the Democrat’s presidential campaign, and they’re going big with their Brooklyn is Berning! celebration. Over two nights (starting Tuesday), a variety of musicians, comics, thinkers, and activists rally on behalf of the Vermont Senator, who, as it just so happens, was born in Brooklyn. The schedule has yet to be announced but already boasts some interesting names, like Jana Hunter (of Lower Dens), Will Sheff (of Okkervil River), Dee Dee (of Dum Dum Girls), Frankie Cosmos, Mas Ysa, and Cass McCombs, who’s in town to play a show at the Bowery Ballroom Thursday. – Lindsey Rhoades

Just over a year ago, Madrid garage pop group the Deers found themselves facing a cease-and-desist from a similarly named Canadian band requesting that they change their moniker. Some bands might have viewed that as a setback, or at least a discouraging omen, but this quartet took it all in stride, quickly rechristening themselves Hinds (that’s a synonym for doe, a deer, a female deer) and racking up accolades from music pubs like NME, the Guardian, and Pitchfork. Their debut LP, Leave Me Alone, finally comes out this January, so the band is throwing a record release party with special guests at Palisades on Wednesday. — Lindsey Rhoades

During a show last October at Union Pool, Pennsylvania emo outfit Balance & Composure hinted that they’d been working on a follow-up to 2013’s The Things We Think We’re Missing. There’s still no official word on the forthcoming record, but their two shows at Saint Vitus this week (on Wednesday and Thursday) will provide an opportunity to debut and nail down whatever new material they might have. Fans are certainly chomping at the bit to hear new stuff: Both shows are already sold out, but tickets might be available in secondary markets for those who can’t wait for a proper tour. – Lindsey Rhoades

With over a decade of songwriting unspooling behind him, Cass McCombs has amassed quite a collection of unreleased cuts and rare b-sides from split seven inches and tour-only cassettes. His latest, A Folk Set Apart, compiles these lost tracks, and now McCombs will revisit much of the material on his current tour in support of the record, which stops at Bowery Ballroom Thursday. Each of his releases, particularly the last four albums he’s put out via Domino Records, have seen the singer and multi-instrumentalist grow in popularity, whether he’s dabbling in psych folk, reverby garage rock, or duets with celebrities that are no longer with us (“Brighter!” from 2013’s Big Wheel and Others featured actress Karen Black’s last vocal performance before she passed away; he dedicated the entire album to her memory). McCombs never puts down roots without tearing them up a few moments later, both sonically and literally as he splits time between the Pacific Northwest, New York, England, and Baltimore. A Folk Set Apart reflects that rambling nature, and has a way of bringing listeners along for the ride with its restless energy. But it’s also a collection that’s about pausing and taking stock of the journey. – Lindsey Rhoades

Plenty of bands these days are invested in resurrecting good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll, but few do it with such verve as the VeeVees and the Skins. Both groups are Brooklyn-based and get a good dose of vitriol from their charismatic frontwomen – Sophia Urista and Bay Li, respectively. Each singer has the kind of vocal chops that could get them noticed in pop music, jazz clubs, or even on a Broadway stage. But on the VeeVees latest EP, Cream of Heaven, or the Skins’ self-titled EP, crunchy riffs and pounding drums lend raw, lean power that plays out best on stages like Irving Plaza’s, where both acts will co-headline on Thursday night. Free tickets have been circulating for those who aren’t intimidated by the prospect of reaching out to the bands directly, but they’ll be $5 at the door. – Lindsey Rhoades